N.D. Const. art. III, § 1 — Research

Reserved Powers of Initiative, Referral, Recall, Constitutional Amendment, Constitutional Convention. Text of the section: current and prior versions.

Every citing reference in the corpus: 13 court opinions and 17 Attorney General opinions.

Generated from the citation graph of the validated corpus. Treatment groupings (construing / citing / recital) are heuristic reading aids, not editorial judgments — read the opinion before relying on any signal.

Cases by topic

Topics are machine-generated groupings of the citing references — reading aids, not editorial judgments. Documents cited after the last classification pass appear in the lists below until the next pass.

The people's reserved initiative and referendum powers

Bjerke, et al. v. North Dakota Legislative Assembly, et al., 2026 ND 118 (2026, McEvers, J.)
Hendrix, et al. v. Jaeger, 2022 ND 168 (2022, Tufte, J.) · quotes the provision
- ¶ 6: “…The people of North Dakota reserved to themselves the power to propose and adopt constitutional amendments by the initiative. N.D. Const. art. III, § 1. "Laws may be enacted to facilitate and safeguard, but not to hamper, restrict, or impair these powers." Id. "All decisions of the secretary of state in the petition process are subject to review by the supreme court in…”
Haugen, et al. v. Jaeger, et al., 2020 ND 177 (2020, per curiam)
Zaiser v. Jaeger, 2012 ND 221 (2012, Kapsner, J.) · construes, quotes the provision
- ¶ 8: “…Under N.D. Const. art. III, "the people reserve the power to propose and enact laws by the initiative." N.D. Const. art. III, § 1. The provisions of N.D. Const. art. III, are self-executing and mandatory; however, the legislature may enact laws to facilitate and safeguard, but not to hamper, restrict, or impair the people's legislative powers. N.D…”
N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. 95-F-12 (1995)
N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. (Mar. 31, 1992) (to Kusler)
N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. 87-16 (1987)
N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. 87-08 (1987)
N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. 87-03 (1987)
Sunbehm Gas, Inc. v. Conrad, 1981 ND 143 (1981, Erickstad, J.) · quotes the provision
- “…legislature’s appropriation authority in violation of Article X, Section 12(1) of the North Dakota Constitution; (2) Whether or not Initiated Measure No. 6 “hampers, restricts, or impairs” the legislature’s power of appropriation in violation of Article III, Section 1 of the North Dakota Constitution; and (3) Whether or not Initiated Measure No. 6 “embraces more than one subject” in violation of Article IV, Section 33 of the North Dakota Constitution. [*769] [1] The Taxpayers asser…”
N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. 81-18 (1981)

Vesting of legislative power and separation of powers

State v. Louser, et al., 2021 ND 89 (2021, VandeWalle, J.)
N.D. Legislative Assembly, et al. v. Burgum, 2018 ND 189 (2018, Tufte, J.) · quotes the provision
- ¶ 40: “…The North Dakota Constitution creates three branches of government and vests each branch with a distinct type of power. N.D. Const. art. III, § 1 ("[T]he legislative power of this state shall be vested in a legislative assembly...."); N.D. Const. art. V, § 1 ("The executive power is vested in the governor...."); N.D. Const. art. VI, § 1 ("The judicial power of th…”
State v. Flatt, 2007 ND 98 (2007, Kapsner, J.) · quotes the provision
- ¶ 20: “…" N.D. Const. art. XI, § 26. And "the legislative power of this state shall be vested in a legislative assembly consisting of a senate and a house of representatives," with the people reserving rights including initiative and referendum. N.D. Const. art. III, § 1.…”

Delegation of legislative authority

Syverson, Rath & Mehrer, P.C. v. Peterson, 1993 ND 10 (1993, Meschke, J.) · quotes the provision
- “…at NDCC 54–10–14, as amended to authorize a fee for the related costs of reviewing a public accountant’s audit report of a political subdivision, is a standardless and, therefore, unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority. See N.D. Const. art. III, § 1 (“... the legislative power of this state shall be vested in a legislative assembly....”). See also N.D. Const. art. XI, § 26 (“The legislative, executive, and judicial branches are coequal branches of government.”). We…”
Lawson v. North Dakota Workmen's Compensation Bureau, 1987 ND 103 (1987, Gierke, J.)
Trinity Medical Center v. North Dakota Board of Nursing, 1987 ND 6 (1987, Erickstad, J.) · quotes the provision
- “…ether [or not] the authority given by the State Legislature to the North Dakota Board of Nursing through Section 43-12.1-08(6), N.D.C.C., constitutes a standardless delegation of legislative authority and [if it does] is therefore in violation of Article III, Section 1, of the North Dakota Constitution. [Answer: “No.”] “2. Whether [or not] the Nursing Board usurped purely legislative powers from the North Dakota Legislature in promulgating Article 54-03.1, N.D.A.C. [Answer: “No.”]”…”
N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. 85-05 (1985)

Regulation of petition circulation

State v. Francis, 2016 ND 154 (2016, Kapsner, J.) · construes, quotes the provision
- ¶ 19: “…Francis argues the electioneering statute violates Article III, Section 1 of the North Dakota Constitution, which provides: While the legislative power of this state shall be vested in a legislative assembly consisting of a senate and a house of representatives, the people reserve the powe…”
Bolinske v. North Dakota State Fair Ass'n, 1994 ND 195 (1994, Levine, J.) · quotes the provision
- “…pealed. We affirm, holding that the Association’s regulations do not violate Bolinske’s right of free speech under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United State’s Constitution or his right to propose laws by the initiative process under Article III, Section 1, of the North Dakota Constitution. The Association is a statutory agency created under Section 4–02.1–01, N.D.C.C., to conduct an annual state fair: “State fair association. A state fair association, to be known as th…”

Local initiative, referendum, and recall

N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. 2024-L-04 (2024)
N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. 2001-L-50 (2001)
N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. (Apr. 22, 1987) (to Sorenson, No. 1)
N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. (Apr. 22, 1987) (to Sorenson, No. 2)
N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. (July 2, 1986)
N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. 82-21 (1982)
N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. 82-11 (1982)

Other applications

N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. 2019-L-05 (2019)
N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. (June 30, 1987) (to Johnson, No. 1)
N.D. Att'y Gen.: N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. (June 30, 1987) (to Johnson, No. 2)

The sidebar keeps a curated digest; this page is the complete record.